This invention relates generally to vessels which regularly operate in both shallow and deep water and, more particularly, to an apparatus for selectively altering the depth of such a vessel's rudder.
It has been a common expedient to provide small vessels, and particularly small sailboats, with retractible rudders which permit the vessel to sail into shallow waters or to even be beached without causing harm to the rudder itself. Such devices have also often provided for retraction of the rudder in the event it should strike a submerged object.
In some of these constructions which have been in use prior to the present time, the rudder blade could only assume two positions, namely, a fully extended position or a fully retracted position. In any intermediate position the rudder blade would merely hang loosely and uncontrolled until such time that it should move or be moved to either of the extreme positions. At these extreme positions, it was customary for the rudder blade to be held against further movement by means of a detent mechanism or by some other device.
In some other known constructions in which the rudder blade was actually able to assume one or more firmly held intermediate positions, these intermediate positions were usually of a minimal number. Such constructions therefore, could not accommodate the broad range of positions which might be desirable under greatly varying conditions. Furthermore, in those instances in which an infinite range of positions between a fully extended and a fully retracted position was possible, the construction was usually applied to large ships utilizing rudders fabricated of dense materials such as copper, steel, and the like. Ropes or chains or other non-rigid connections between the rudder blade and the deck of the ship were utilized for raising and lowering of the rudder blade. In these instances, the weight of the rudder was relied upon for maintaining the ropes or chains taut. However such constructions are not applicable to the rudder assembly presently being considered. Specifically, the present invention is concerned with the rudder blade for a relatively small vessel which would likely be composed of a material such as wood or fiberglass having a density normally lighter than water. As such, a rudder blade would be unable to submerge itself under its own weight or in the absence of a rigid connection between it and the vessel.
Additionally, the known art includes a number of instances in which the tiller is employed for adjusting the depth of the rudder blade. Although there may be a benefit by combining the normal operation of the tiller with the operation of raising and lowering the rudder blade under normal conditions, this is undesirable and can be quite hazardous under adverse conditions. Under such conditions each of the operations should be performed separately and by means of separate devices to assure independence of operation and without compromising the performance characteristics of each device.